


Forbidden Fruit

by ZombieQueen



Series: Agent XI Canon Hub [2]
Category: Ben 10 Series, SCP Foundation
Genre: Advanced Technology, Alien Biology, Alien Technology, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic Lucy Mann, Asexual Aromantic Lucy Mann, Asexual Lucy Mann, Badass Lucy Mann, Character Study, Emotional Manipulation, Fan-Made GOC Tech, Fan-Made Plumber Tech, Gen, Government Conspiracy, Infiltration, Interspecies Friendship, Magic, Magitech, Multi, Other, Post-Canon, Pseudoscience, Psychological Warfare, Science Fiction, Shapeshifting, Spy Lucy Mann, Worldbuilding, humans through alien eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 7,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23400949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZombieQueen/pseuds/ZombieQueen
Summary: Intelligencer Mann is assigned to take out the Global Occult Coalition, and take it down from the inside.Will she rise, or will she fall?
Relationships: Lucy Mann & Rook Blonko, Rook Blonko/Ben Tennyson
Series: Agent XI Canon Hub [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627360
Comments: 10
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Lucy looked over the files given to her. It had been two weeks since she received that email from Rook. It was nice to know that being a mole for the Plumbers wasn't an entirely solo job, but there were still limitations, since Rook wasn't allowed to interfere with Protocol-978416.

She looked over the file for her fake identity.

* * *

> _**Name:** Thorn, Jennifer Rosemary_
> 
> _**Sex:** Female_
> 
> _**Hair:** Brown_
> 
> **_Eyes:_ ** _Blue_
> 
> _**Skin:** Pigmentation Codominance_
> 
> _**Nationality:** N/A_
> 
> **_Ethnic Group:_ ** _N/A_
> 
> _**Age:** 23_
> 
> **_Military Experience:_ ** _[CLASSIFIED]_

* * *

It looked genuine, but something about the nature of "Jennifer" felt off to Lucy. She didn't know what to put for her military experience slot. Same thing went for her nationality, as Lenopans had no such concept. 

She decided to just write down "American" to fill in the "Nationality" slot, but kept her Ethnic Group as "N/A" for personal privacy and self-preservation.

As for her military experience, her mind was still blocked.

What was she supposed to put if she wasn't allowed to write down her true occupation as a Plumber, or as a mole for them?

Did she even have a plan on how to get recruited into the TOC to begin with?

How was she supposed to bring it down?

How does a parasite become such to its host without being found out?


	2. New Girl In Assessment Team 735

Agent Bullfrog, his Serial Number being 43856518/735 and real name being known as Jeramiah Carter, had just finished looking over this Jennifer Thorn girl's cadet file. He had agreed to allow the girl to shadow Assessment Team 735 "Sparkplug" in order to learn about the PHYSICS Division and its methods and technology. He was curious about Jennifer and what she could become when it was going to come to Liquidation of Threat Entities.

Was she going to join the PHYSICS Division at some point in the future, once she became an official member of the GOC? Or was she going to join the PTOLEMY Division to study and expand on the Coalition's technology?

What if she wanted to join the PHYCHE Division, to better understand international perspectives on the nature of Threat Entities, and to tell High Command about them from her own perspective? 

Who was Jennifer Thorn going to become?

* * *

Agent Skunkboy, his Serial Number being 43852165/735, was hearing rumors from Strike and other Assessment Team members about a young cadet from the US. They said that she was fast in terms of learning about the Coalition, its mission, its methods, and its tech, and had even been allowed to shadow his own Assessment Team in order to learn about the PHYSICS Division. 

He spoke to Agent Spider, Serial Number 43861212/735, about this "Jennifer Thorn" chick whose face they had never seen and whose voice they had yet to hear, as they knew not if they were actually going to meet this mystery of a girl. 

Spider assumed and told her friend/teammate that there was no such person as Jennifer Thorn and was quickly informed by Skunkboy that the rumors from the others were telling them both otherwise. The two friends began to debate about the questions forming and starting to surround this Jennifer Thorn woman.

Who was the mystery of Jennifer Thorn?

Was she even real to begin with?

Or was she all just an illusion made by a community starting to grow mad?

* * *

Agent Kitten, 43857764/735, proper name being Tabitha St. Matthews, was told about the stories of this Cadet Jennifer Thorn child.

Kitten could care less for silly fairy tales, but knowing everything from her years of being a "Accessor", as some members of more than a few Assessment Teams had called themselves, was anything to go off of, then such nonsense was just as real and just as valid as Jupiter's Big Red Spot.

But she only had one question:

Who was she?


	3. Jennifer

The Coalition was suddenly confronted with a mystery that had begun not long after the recruitment of Cadet Thorn.

A mystery involving various pieces of tech disappearing without a trace, and any camera footage of the thief stealing anything was often found coated in mud with the cameras that had filmed the thief were, just like the film, entirely unrepairable. No one knew how or why the thief was stealing GOC tech or why mud was being found inside all of the now destroyed cameras. 

The investigation was assigned to Assessment Team 735 AKA "Sparkplug."

The members of Sparkplug agreed to look into the tech thief and the muddy cameras. Spider was in charge of in depth analysis, Skunkboy was in charge of interviews from any and all eyewitnesses in case if they had recently seen the thief and/or the source of the camera mud, Kitten was in charge of gaining any info on the stolen technology to see what the thief was wanting to take, and Bullfrog was left in charge of hunting down and reporting the thief. 

The only one who had yet to be assigned anything in terms of a task related to the muddy camera investigation was the cadet who the members of Assessment Team 735 were allowing to shadow under their wings, her name being Jennifer Thorn.

* * *

Jennifer Thorn had buzzed off brown hair, vitiligo skin, and cobalt blue eyes. And she was determined to bring down the Global Occult Coalition by any means nessasary.


	4. Phone Calls

**Plumber Mission Progress Report**

* * *

**Overseer ID:** Magister Rook Blonko

 **Agent ID:** Intelligencer Lucy Mann

 **Protocol #:** 978416

 **Codename Of Operation:** "Forbidden Fruit"

* * *

 **Overview Of Protocol:** Intelligencer Mann is currently infiltrating the Group of Interest known as the Terran Occult Coalition (Known on Terra as the Global Occult Coalition.) in order to usurp its divisions and chain of command as well as gather its technology and as many forms of documentation related to the history and information about the GOI in question as possible. All TOC technology and information gathered by Intelligencer Mann is to be reported to and collected by Magister Rook for analysis and investigation into the event known as the[ "Boiling Flood of North Access"](http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-4231) in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, Terra, as well as any information regarding the origins of [CLASSIFIED].

To those who are curious, please regard the documents related to the Pygmalion Event for further details.

Magister Rook is not allowed to directly interfere, but is required to invoke mission related communications at least once every 24 hours. These communications are to make sure that Intelligencer Mann does not lose herself in her current persona, as in, believing that she is her current persona and she begins to forget her actual identity, better known as "Masquerade Identification Syndrome", and is to make sure that the nature of her mission is left uncompromised and that her presence is left unacknowledged by the TOC, mostly for the operative's safety concerns for both her psychological and physical health.

* * *

 **Addendum:** The following excerpt is from a recorded audio transcription of an instance of daily communication via Magister Rook and Intelligencer Mann's respective badges. Unimportant data has been cut from the transcription for clarity:

* * *

> **Mann:** This is Intelligencer Mann reporting on the status of Protocol-978416. Intelligencer Mann to Magister Rook, do you copy?
> 
> **Rook:** Magister Rook to Intelligencer Mann regarding the status of Protocol-978416. How is the progress of your mission going?
> 
> **Mann:** Mission is running smoothly so far. The Coalition has begun investigating into my actions though, which is worrisome, as it might compremise the mission. How's your eyeball replacement going? 
> 
> **Rook:** My occular surgery is going well, but the replacment is still being built and further research into Revonnagander biology from an intergalactic scale is still needed. Regarding the Coalition's investigation into your work, I will report it to the Magistrata as soon as possible. Do you still have the equipment you were given re: Protocol-978416?
> 
> **Mann:** I do. 
> 
> **Rook:** Which items?
> 
> **Mann:** I still have the Compression Gun and its marble bullets, and I still have the Antimemetic Camouflage Suit, but I accidentally damaged it when I first put it on. Request to return it to Base for repairs?
> 
> **Rook:** Request granted. Nature of the item's damage?
> 
> **Mann:** Fabric is torn, wires are cut up and caked in my clay, and plating is heavily cracked but no chipped off pieces are missing. I made sure of that.
> 
> **Rook:** That sounds rather too easy for us to fix. And the Compression Gun?
> 
> **Mann:** Compression Gun is still functioning as expected when fired. Aim is normal, since aiming is the shooter's skill and not the gun's. Accuracy and trigger are far stronger than what is normal for a Smith & Wesson Model 327, but given that its a highly altered revolver of its type, I should've known better than to assume from previous experiences. 
> 
> **Rook:** Are you using the Compression Gun properly?
> 
> **Mann:** Do you take me for a fool?

* * *

**End of Report #25874168**


	5. The Games I Must Play And Win

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told from the first person perspective. I want to experiment with this chapter.

I walk into the factories without hesitation, as has become routine for me by now.

Ritual, you could say, if you can even have the guts to call it that.

I go in as normal:

Step 1 is to produce mobile mud puddles under my control that can obliterate the control panels and destroy the security cameras, both inside the factory and out, from within.

Step 2 is unlock and open one of the windows if they can be opened from the outside. If the windows can't be opened that way, I turn myself into my fluid state by melting into mud and pouring myself through any of the cracks in the building, unlock the windows from the inside, grab my gear, and close all of the windows that I have opened. I've been heavily trained by professional Plumber arrested thives, fellow Lenopans, and myself to become a lot more careful when it comes to leaving any and all evidence of my presence in a room. I knew I had to learn that thanks to Cousin Gwen's remarks about my mud when we were kids. Guess she'd be happy to know that her words back then ended up being far more helpful for me than she expected.

Step 3 was to steal the Coalition's gear and equipment. For this, I was given a S&W Model 327 that was heavily modified by Blukic and Driba, which was highly impressive for two Galvan people who have most likely had never even seen a Terran firearm before, let alone work with one and/or alter it in any manner like they had done with the Compression Gun. The Compression Gun functioned as normal for the type of revolver it was made from, but the trigger and recoil were roughly twice as strong, which was good for the trigger, but bad for recoil which made the Compression Gun a bit more dangerous than normal, but I can handle it by now. The CG's build was normal, but the bullet holding part was not for bullets anymore, as that was the main detail that was truly changed. In lieu of bullets, the CG shot bronze colored rubber-esque-made marbles that were capable of turning any nonliving target into a small cube, big enough to hold in one hand, but small enough to fit in one's pocket without being detected. Red cubes were for battle suits (Black Suits, Grey Suits, Blue Suits, etc.), Blue cubes were for things like books and field manuals and essays and the like, and green cubes were things like building materials that were often used to make things like battle suits and field manuals, such as Chameleon Cloth or document drafts related to the Leaks, as we Plumbers prefer to call them, although Magister Rook is starting to adopt some of the TOC's terminology when referring to things like Type Greens, or a reality bender in layman's terms. During one of our calls, Rook told me that he was concerned for one of his sisters as she was possibly becoming an early Phase 2 Type Green.

I've read about Type Greens, but in all known cases I heard of, I don't think there was ever a report of any other aliens outside of Terrans having any kind of abnormalities on those kinds of scales. What is viewed as weird to one species is always going to be seen as normal for another and vise versa.

Maybe it was just Terrans being sometimes racist idiots and confusing normalcy for oddity, or maybe it was just an alternate interpretation of the current understanding of the universe that Terrans were still trying their best to learn in the only ways they knew. 

Maybe it was both curiousness and confusion.

Step 4 after I gather what I must get is to leave as if I was never even there to begin with. 

Being a Plumber Intelligencer is a game.

You have to do anything you can to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The early Phase 2 Type Green Rook sister I'm referring to is- 
> 
> Ha! Gotcha! Did you really think that was going to give out that kind of spoiler just like that?


	6. Hush Now, Quiet Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am referencing "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" with that chapter title. Fight me.

Assessment Team 735 was entirely stumped at this point. They had no leads to jump off from. No footsteps or fingerprints to speak of. Not a single trace of the thief to be found or seen. As if this intruder knew that they were being hunted and knew better than to get caught and killed. 

Jennifer looked over a few of the files that Spider had given her. The only thing that Sparkplug knew about the thief was that they always left every camera in all of the factories where they struck baked in mud or clay-like substances. The texture was like clay and its color was like mud but the substance was odorless as humans were incapable of smelling a Lenopan's natural musk, thanks to their adaptations of sensory manipulation that had long allowed them the chances of stronger survival as Darwinian Evolution was able to tell you. 

"So, what do you think of the data we've got so far?" Asked Spider, wondering how someone with fresh blood would react when faced with knowledge of a Parathreat.

"What do I think of the data, Spider?" Thorn began. "What I think of the data is that this thief could be right under our noses and we would never even know it. What if the thief was given orders to steal or is working for a higher power than the Coalition?" Thorn proposed, with the thoughts of Coalition-Based biased Terrans being ignorant and uneducated fools floating around in her mind. She was glad that Terrans were unable to read minds, unless they could, but now knowing the Coalition, she knew that this was impossible for a TOC operative.

"A higher power than the Coalition? The only higher power that's above the Coalition would be those Red Spots, and they don't talk to us unless we've shot up some Corona. And even if they knew that we existed, why do they even bother caring about Earth anyways? Well, other than that son of a bitch Tennyson jackass." 

Jennifer soon gained a look that was a mix between insulted and enraged. How _dare_ she say _that_ about _her family?!_ Why would _ANYBODY_ insult one of the most inspirational, life changing, and essential people in the _entire universe?_

Spider's comment was met with a left hook to the face and a broken jaw.

"OW!!! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR DAMN PROBLEM?!" Spider screamed in surprise.

"How **_dare_** you insult Ben like that?!" Thorn yelled in defense of her cousin, being careful not to say any terms of kinship while undercover.

"Well, it's true, isn't it." Spider slurred as her words began to shake.

"No, it's not..." Thorn said in a harsh growling and whispering tone. Spider didn't want to describe what she saw and experienced after Thorn said that.

The results were Spider's tongue being completely removed from her mouth and her entire lower jaw being torn off of her skull. She was lucky to still be alive after that, but her fingers were ripped off of her hands, meaning that she could no longer speak or write. She wasn't even able to use sign language to fill the gaps of communication now. She could make vocalizations but to no avail, as they weren't the same as actual words.

A piece of notebook paper was found taped to Spider's chest reading this message:

* * *

> **_"To the Global Occult Coalition,_ **
> 
> **_You are ingorant, speciesist, overly biased fools._ **
> 
> **_I have been watching and gathering info for my bosses for three months now, and what I've seen is horrific._ **
> 
> **_You shoot and kill innocent people just because they are they are 'abnormal' and you say that it would be better than us just existing amongst the populous._ **
> 
> **_You have, for far too long, insulted us and have confused normalcy for oddity._ **
> 
> **_I've just been called by my overseer to come back to Base. I hope you get your priorities in a much better order. As in, stop killing innocent beings just for being born!!!!!_ **
> 
> **_I hate you all, but I do have to thank you for all of those special little goodies you've given us._ **
> 
> **_Signed, Jennifer Rosemary Thorn."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh...
> 
> That could've gone better, but this series takes place in the same universe as the SCP Foundation, what else can you expect?


	7. A Monster Among Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title sounds like a good horror movie and/or rock band name. Why do people make sick band names and not have bands with those names? I never understood that.

Skunkboy rushed to Spider's aid, while Kitten grabbed Jennifer's note, and Bullfrog yelled out for a medic.

As soon as Assessment Team 735 read it, the Coalition was basically screwed a million times over.

Was Thorn a part of the Serpent's Hand?

The Chaos Insurgency?

Are We Cool Yet?

**_ The Foundation?  _ **

All traces of Jennifer Rosemary Thorn were nowhere to be seen after Spider was found without her mouth and fingers. 

She just up and vanished with not a footstep to mark her past. 

Who in the world was Jennifer Thorn?

* * *

Intelligencer Lucy Mann was back in Plumber Base, with a large sports bag over her left shoulder, and the Compression Gun in her right hand, pointed down and its safety on, and the gun itself being unloaded. The Compressors, as she called the projectiles, were in her bag's side pockets. She wasn't so immature to the point of being that irresponsible. She was trained on how to properly use a gun during her Academy days and that knowledge stuck and was going to stay.

It felt good coming back to Base after so long.

It felt so good to be Lucy Mann again.

It felt so good to be herself again. 

It felt so good to no longer having to be in a persona.

No more Jennifer Rosemary Thorn.

Lucy needed to shift between forms once more. She melted away her hair, eyes, and flesh, and folded them in and out, creating ripples that she was glad to be reuniting with. So many times during her mission did she beg to do this once more without the fear of being exposed to the Coalition. She loved simply being who she was. Not in the way that a Narcisist would love themselves, but more in a "I love myself, flaws and all." sort of sense. She was not the romantic type, nor did she desire sexual acts. She refused to waste her time with pointless romanticism and complicated and boring sexual rules. When she learned of this fact about herself, she at first thought that something was wrong with her, but over time, she had understood that her heart just didn't have any room for such nonsensical things.

* * *

Lucy walked through Plumber Base with her gear and stolen goods, frequently asking for directions to Rook's Infirm Wing room. After getting her answer, she went, but what she didn't expect to see someone who looked just like Gwen standing in front of the door, but her eyes were a little less emerald and more summer grass in terms of shades of green. Lucy knew the shades and tints of colors quite well, and that Gwendolyn's human eyes were always emerald, and that Ben's human eyes were always summer grass. 

This small difference already blew "Gwen's" cover.

"Hello, Lucy." Said the false Gwendolyn. Her voice sounded off, like someone was trying too hard to be her voice actor if she was a fictional cartoon or anime character and wasn't getting her voice right.

"Benji, I can tell that you're not Gwendy." Stated Lucy in a blunt honesty.

"Gwen" soon melted away into a young adult male humanoid Lenopan form who had no whiskers and summer grass green eyes. On his chest was the Omnitrix symbol.

"Aww, what gave me away?" Ben asked as he shifted forms.

"Your eyes were the wrong shade of green. Also, your voice was inaccurate." Lucy answered, her voice still blunt.

Ben felt that something was off with Lucy. Wait... _Was she holding a gun?!_

"Uhh... Lucy, not to freak you out, but why do you have a gun?!" Ben asked as his voice quivered as he changed back into his human form. 

"Don't worry about it, I've been trained, and its unloaded. Now, I need to see Rook for a discussion regarding my most recent mission. May I please see him?" 

Ben knew that something weird going on with Lucy. Why wasn't she smiling? A mission was important, but why wasn't Lucy happy? Did she fail? What was in her bag? What was the gun for? Did Lucy kill somebody and was now hiding a dead person's body in her bag?! 

Ben's mind went in the worst direction. He decided that he needed to warn his partner that Lucy had gone rouge and was going to kill him.

"I'll just go in and tell Blonko that you're back from your mission. To, um, prepare him for your arrival." Ben stuttered as he opened the door into Rook's room.

Lucy was a bit confused as to why Ben was stuttering. Also, did Ben just call Rook by his given name? Or was "chosen" the right word? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I headcanon Lucy as being aro/ace. It just makes sense for her. At least from my perspective.


	8. I Want To See You

Ben had just walked into Rook's room, the latter's right eye replacement having had just been inserted into his socket. An almost perfect simulacrum of a Revonnahgander's eye. A lot of research had to be done in order to make it just right for Rook's vision to be fixed. Every last detail needed to be perfect. Thankfully for Rook, he had his partner to aid him. 

What was perfection for Ben Tennyson? The answer was unknown to everyone else, but only Ben could give his response.

* * *

Ben looked over at his partner. Rook still had his eyepatch on from the initial surgery, from when that bullet that Mrs. Levin threw flew into his eye. Blukic and Driba looked as if they were almost finished with the software. 

"All right Rook, it looks like your new eye is almost fully ready to go!" Driba stated in an excited tone as he held a Galvan sized tablet that showed imagery of Rook's biological eye while Blukic was holding one that was showing imagery of Rook's cybernetic eye with a concerned frown on his face. 

"Uh, Driba? Are you sure we picked out all the bugs?" Asked Blukic in his uncertainty.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I'm worried that there still might be a few glitches in the software."

"Let me see."

Blukic soon passed his tablet to Driba as he set down his own on the table that they were standing on. Driba looked over the software and a look of disturbance entered his face. Then a look of reassurance and acceptance as soon as he wrote out and corrected most of the remaining glitches, save for a very few minor imperfections. 

"How about this?" Driba asked as he returned Blukic's tablet back to him and went to grab back his own.

Blukic turned his attention to Rook and Ben, smiled, and gave them a thumb's up.

"Now we're ready to go." Stated the two Galvan tech experts in pure confirmation.

* * *

Ben held onto his partner's hand. Both of them were nervous to learn the results, knowing that this was a huge change for both of them. Blukic and Driba were told to leave the room, despite them wanting to see the results of their work. Lucy had yet to be allowed to enter the room, still confused as to why Ben had said Rook's chosen name.

Rook removed his eyepatch to reveal his cybernetic eye to Ben.

The eye was similar to his original one, but the sclera was no longer yellow orange but was now a metallic hue of a dark grey color with his iris being pure white instead of the original sunset gold. In Rook's field of vision, he saw strange lines and numbers and words surrounding him. He was able to read them, of course, but it was naturally something he would need to become used to. It was like what a quote from a book he read once told him.

_"This may not seem ordinary to you now, but in time, it will become ordinary."_

When he laid his eyes on Ben, his new eye reacted with a circle surrounding Ben's face, with words below saying "Partner recognized. No threats detected. Subject safe. Status stable." with it. 

"Ben?" The Revonnahgander began. "Do you still..." He trailed off before being able to bring himself to say anything else.

Ben simply nodded yes and hugged Rook as tightly as he could. 

"You know that having a robot eyeball isn't going to change what I feel for you. Even if I got trapped in some crazy time loop that won't end and you end up dying on repeat every time, I'm still going to love you."

"What am I to you now?"

"You are what you've always been to me. From when we first met, to where we are now. You are mine and I am yours. Are you forgetting that we're partners?"

"It is easy to forget that we are equals."


	9. Tell Me The Truth

Lucy had just walked into Rook's room while Ben had yet to leave. Lucy was a bit unnerved by seeing Rook with two different eyes, but she could try to get used to it. Before Ben was ordered by Rook to leave the room, Lucy looked away as her cousin and his partner shared a gentle kiss. 

She heard Ben whisper to Rook, but she was smart enough to keep what he said a secret.

* * *

Lucy and Rook were now alone. 

"Hello Magister Rook."

"Greetings Intelligencer Mann."

Lucy removed the bag from her person and allowed Rook to open it. The bag revealed nearly hundreds of small blue, green, and red cubes. All of them filled with items and information regarding the Terran Occult Coalition. Lucy was quick to inform him that she needed to cut her mission short after committing an act of violence that had announced herself as a threat to the Coalition. Rook gained a look of indifference, and then stated that the Coalition will never find Jennifer Rosemary Thorn, as she was never a real person to begin with. 

Lucy made the choice to ask Rook a question, well aware that she could easily lose her ranking as soon as the words spilled from her mouth and into Rook's ears.

"Why are we doing this?"

"What do you mean by 'why are we doing this?'?"

"Why are we trying to disassemble the Terran Occult Coalition in the first place?"

"I am afraid I am not allowed to answer such a question. Such questioning does not bode well for me either, as I have asked those above me, and they are not the simplistic answering type of people like you or I."

"You asked the Magistrata?"

"Yes, I have asked her. And she told me that our friends who represent the Organization are not willing to answer such questions. All she was allowed to tell me was that it would be better if we do not ask why."

"What's the Organization?"

"I am afraid I am not allowed to tell you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just found out that this fic and "Agent XI: Volume 1" are on TV Tropes' fanfic recs page for Ben 10!!!!
> 
> And I'm currently having the happiest smile on my face.
> 
> A huge thank you goes to whoever this ThisIsRidiculous person is!!!!!


	10. I've Got All These Demons Hiding Underneath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is a reference to Alec Benjamin's song "Demons" which is a really good song. If you're having a bad time, it'll probably help.

Lucy was confused by Rook's answer. She didn't understand what he was talking about. She left the room to allow Rook to heal and to look over the loot that she had just given him.

"The Organization." She told herself. Those silly rumors about an "intergalactic foundation" were truer than true. She chuckled, then giggled, and then laughed. Her laughter grew to a disturbingly chilling feeling of glee and relief.

"Organization!!! I am a fucking idiot!!!!! It was fucking real... All this time... Those rumors were right..." She said to the heavens as she fainted, making Ben scream in fear for her.

* * *

Lucy awoke in a bed that wasn't hers. King sized. Freshly replaced mattress. Firm but soft. The blankets and sheets were a dark blue in color, with green comets and white stars dotting it, forming various Earth known constellations. 

In the bedroom she was in, there were a number of _Sumo Slammers_ and _The Un-Alivers_ posters both old and new, an Ever-Sewn brand sewing machine on a large desk and a number of fabrics to go with it, the walls were green with the ceiling being blue, some toys, such as plushies and ragdolls, were strewn on the floor, all of them custom made, a large wardrobe made from yew wood carved into shapes related to life in all its forms, and next to the door was a large dog bed.

She sniffed the air. The strong scent of bacon flooded her nose. She got up and walked around the home. She stepped down the stairs and headed to where she soon learned the kitchen was and saw Ben cooking bacon while wearing a green apron.

"Hey cuz. How long was I out?" She asked her cousin-in-law. 

"Morning. As soon as you left Blonko's room, you went and got all weird and started talking about some kind of organization, called yourself an idiot, said that it was real all this time and that the rumors were right, and then you passed out. After some doctors looked over you, they told me that you thankfully didn't die from shock, and they allowed me to take you to me and Blonko's place. You've been out cold for about twelve hours." Explained Ben as he poured the bacon grease into an empty jam jar and wiped away the excess with a paper towel. He set the pan into the sink, squirted some dish soap into it, and turned on the faucet, allowing water to spill into the pan and letting the grease soak away. 

"So, where's Rook?"

"Blonko's on a solo mission, but he's not telling me anything about it. I don't normally worry about that kind of thing, though, since I know that Blonko can fend for himself if he's in danger." Stated Ben as he got him and Lucy a pair of ceramic plates and a pair of forks. 

While eating breakfast, Lucy wondered what kind of mission Rook was on. What was Rook doing now with the loot that Lucy had given him yesterday? 

"So, how's your partner doing right now?"

"I just told you that Blonko's on a solo mission. He just told me that he had to go do something crazy important with the stuff inside that bag you gave him yesterday. What's in the bag? A dead person or something?"

Lucy gave no answer. How could Ben understand what Lucy had witnessed? How could anyone understand?

"Ben, can you imagine your worst nightmare?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

The Lenopan soon shut herself up. Of course Ben wasn't going to get what she was talking about. 

"Lucy?" Ben asked her as she grew quiet and stopped smiling again. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm alright. Everything's fine."

What else could she say?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that the "Un-Alivers" movie series from the reboot is a book series in the Prime Timeline. It makes sense if you think about it. Books always come before movies or anime if you're a manga nerd, but I do know of two exceptions to this rule thing, and those are "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" and "Little Witch Academia", although I'm not fully sure if "The Un-Alivers" are an actual series of fictional-within-fictional books in the "Ben 10" Classic Storyline.
> 
> If they ever become a real series in our reality, I will binge.


	11. U Ok?

Rook had been receiving texts from Ben for about an hour now. He was a bit miffed by his partner's impatience, but if working and later living with Ben for the past three Earth years was anything to go off of, it was that being involved with Ben regarding anything was always something to look forward to. Even if it was just doing nothing, simply being with his partner was enough. 

Maybe asking to and kissing him in that strange Ambrose eatery place two Earth years ago was a mistake. 

Then why did it feel so right?

Maybe it was some undiscovered instinct, or maybe it was some kind of teenage impulse?

Rook nodded his head in the negative. 

_Ben should be happier with a human girl. Not me..._ He thought to himself as he looked over the Coalition database books that Intelligencer Mann had just given him. Every last one of them was an interesting read, but the idea of the Terran Occult Coalition going out and killing innocent people and removing said people of their, for lack of a better word, humanity just for being who and what they were was just purely disgusting. Rook didn't even want to think about what the Coalition could do to him. Or worse, his family and former friends and ex-lovers back on Revonnah and what horrible things that the Coalition could to them. Same thing went for every other world and dimension that he had gone to over the course of his three Earth year long career as a Plumber. It was one of his worst nightmares from even before he first learned of the supernatural from a Plumber's perspective, or even an alien perspective. He had heard the harsh words that had been thrown at his younger sister for her entire life just for being born and knew full well of the superstitions surrounding those who shared that same trait, but after learning that she was an early Phase 2 Type Green, he was quick to warn her about going up to Phase 4 and told her that if she ever reached Phase 3, he told her to stay there, and to never go any higher. 

It was a bit of an extreme to force her to just stay at Phase 3 if she was to ever reach it, but his intentions were for her own safety.

Was this how his parents felt when he told them that he wanted to join the Plumbers? It had to be...

Rook then heard his cell phone buzz again. Another text from his beloved. No surprise there.

* * *

> _Hey babe._
> 
> _Sorry for spamming you with texts for the past hour._
> 
> _Please don't be mad at me._
> 
> _U ok?_

* * *

Rook sighed to himself. He didn't want his partner to know what he was really feeling. How was Ben going to understand?

* * *

> _I am fine._


	12. Why Are Not Talking To Me?!

Ben knew that something was very wrong with Lucy and Rook.

Lucy's symptoms appeared to be very similar to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but also appeared to disturbingly similar to depression at the same time. Was it both of the aforementioned happening to Lucy? But Lenopans didn't have physical brains as far as Ben understood. In lieu of a brain, Lenopan minds were composed of the massive nervous system that composed their entire bodies along with the natural layers of filth, dead organism cells, and heavily decomposed rotting dead flesh from whatever it was they had scavenged, due to them having a scavenger-based diet and what normally happens to them when they dive into water without shapeshifting into a fish or something beforehand. So, giving Lucy such a diagnosis without any kind of actual insight was a very clearly bad idea, especially due to the fact that Ben was not actually any type of medical professional.

As for Rook, Ben just couldn't tell. The Revonnahgander just kept changing the subject whenever Ben tried to ask him what was wrong. 

Ben couldn't stand it anymore.

* * *

As the duo were grocery shopping and browsing through the Market District, Ben knew that he had to bring up what was wrong with his partner.

"Um, Rook?" Began the brunette. "Is it cool if I ask you something important?" He asked, knowing that Rook could easily dodgeball his way into a chess game of words.

"You may ask whatever it is you would like to, my emerald. You know that you do not need to ask." Stated Rook as he lifted and examined a sterling silver necklace adorned with green aventurine and ice blue zircon beads.

Ben took in a deep inhale. Then he exhaled slowly. 

"Why are you not talking to me?!" Demanded Ben as his words overflowed from his mouth and came out a bit more harshly than he wanted them to.

"Ben, what are you saying?" Replied Rook as his confusion and worry spiked as the people around them began to crowd and whisper things along the lines of "Are they fighting again?" or "Did one of them cheat?"

Ben's answer to his partner's question was met with a strong hostility born of confusion and ignorance.

**_"WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT I'M TIRED OF YOU IGNORING ME!!!! WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?! WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT I CAN TAKE IT! JUST TALK TO ME! YOU KEEP SAYING THAT YOU'RE FINE, BUT YOU CLEARLY AREN'T OKAY!!! YOU THINK THAT I'M NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU TALKING IN YOUR NIGHTMARES WHEN YOU COME HOME STUPIDLY LATE AT NIGHT SLEEP DEPRIVED, OR WHEN YOU'RE BEING A SLOPPY FIGHTER ON THE BATTLEFIELD, OR WHEN YOU'RE LYING TO MY FACE?!?!?!?!"_ **

It was clear as freshly cleaned sea-glass that Ben was done with his partner's nonsense. The human was tired. He was confused. He had no context. He understood nothing regarding Protocol-978416, for he was to never learn or know of it. 

Ben knew nothing of the Terran Occult Coalition, the Organization, Type Greens, that disgusting infamous Boiling Flood of North Access that happened on August 1st, 1989 that killed 1,200 people, none of it was known to Ben.

None of it was a part of his, or anyone else's understanding of history.

How could he understand any of it?

How was he supposed to?


	13. Repairs

Agent Spider was healing. That was good. Re-growing the woman's fingers and lower jaw from scratch via her stem cells, DNA, and RNA was easy, as was reattaching them. Same for the tongue, but reattaching it was a bit harder as the body part was one directly connected to her nervous system. 

* * *

Spider was relearning how to write. Skunkboy was kind enough to give her a pen and notepad so that she could "talk" using her writing skills. Muscle memory kicked in, and soon, Spider was able to communicate what happened with Jennifer Rosemary Thorn from her own perspective. 

"Spider, what happened with that Thorn chick?" Asked Skunkboy in a serious tone. No jokes or games, unlike most of their normal conversations, which were often playful and childlike, unless it was related to a Threat Entity and/or various other sorts of Parathreats.

Spider wrote down everything that she still recalled, as the shock of what had happened to her and what she had witnessed.

* * *

> _**Her name isn't Jennifer Rosemary Thorn. That was a fake name she used. She's with another organization, but it's not one we care about. ~~Why should we bother to anyways?~~ She was the thief all this time. ** _

* * *

"Why did she do this to you?"

* * *

> **_That Tennyson boy, from TV. Thorn said that I insulted him, but I was just joking. I guess she didn't get the joke._ **

* * *

Skunkboy's eyes widened upon reading that. No fucking way. Spider had unknowingly insulted a spy for a god who was under the protection of a space army. And now the entire Coalition was going to become the second Cornwall Incident. The Coalition has killed gods before, of course, but to go and try to kill _Ben Tennyson_ was just a fucked up death wish just waiting to happen. That man was not _anything_ like a Type Black. Or _any_ kind of humanoid Threat Entity. He was something else entirely. 

"Okay, um, Ara. Not trying to freak you out here, but I think you just confessed that you unknowingly insulted a spy who was working for the Red Spots." Said Skunkboy as his voice grew more afraid and less confident.

Spider was quick to drop her pen and notepad as her own eyes widened from realization and shock and confusion. She then was quick to grab back her writing utensils and wrote just one last thing.

* * *

> **_What have we gone and done? Wait, if Jennifer is a spy for Red Spots, then what are they trying to do with all of our stuff that she stole?_ **


	14. A Broken Mind

Lucy couldn't sleep well anymore after she had returned from her cut short mission of bringing down the Terran Occult Coalition. 

Why was she assigned to that gun crazy disaster of an organization?

Was it all a test or something?

* * *

It was morning now, and Lucy was at Mr. Baumann's shop, as all the food in her apartment had gone bad during her absence from Undertown. She looked at the boxes of cereal on the shelves. All the cereals were changed.

There were so many choices to pick from.

In Lucy's vision, the cereal boxes stopped being cereal boxes, and started to become various shapes and sizes, all related to the TOC.

All but one.

The cereal box that remained unchanged was a pale shade of yellow with dark red writing in bold and a stylized black bird resembling a condor.

* * *

She returned home with her bags of groceries. She unpacked them as normal, putting the goods where she knew they'd go. Lucy looked at the box of cereal that she had bought. 

"Super Coco Pows? Wait, this isn't what I normally buy. I usually get corn flakes." She said to herself as she opened the box and opened the bag inside. The cereal looked like Coco Puffs, but smelled like Froot Loops. Odd. She grabbed a small handful of the cereal and put it in her mouth. The taste was similar to her usual cereal of choice, but also wasn't like anything she knew. 

She went with it and went about the rest of her day.

* * *

The nightmares kept on going.

Why?

Why was she having these night terrors so frequently?

She didn't like these dreams just like anyone who has ever had such experiences can confirm.

What was wrong with her?

Why wasn't she happy anymore?


	15. Chapter 15

**_All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players._ **

* * *

Rook knew full well that he couldn't tell Ben anything about the Unknowable Things, but he wanted to so badly. He wanted to tell Ben everything, just like he used to do so before Lucy was assigned to Protocol-978416. Before he was assigned to oversee Lucy in her progress and before she had given him everything that she had stolen related to the TOC. Before he had to keep quiet from his beloved.

The young Magister turned around to face his partner's back. Ben was asleep, his back turned away from Rook while both were lying on their bed. The older of the two shook the younger's shoulder, waking the latter much to his annoyance.

"Mmm, what is it?" Ben asked, his voice muddled with fatigue. The human turned to meet face to face with the alien. Ben noticed that there seemed to be a look of deep regret in Rook's now mismatched/biotechnological eyes.

"Benjamin, can you forgive me for hurting you?"

"Blonko, I can't do that if you're not telling me why you've been hurting me..."

"I know. But what if I can make it up to you?"

Ben thought about it for a moment. What kind of things hadn't they done together? Well, excluding the Time War, but a future version of Rook was somewhat still somehow involved in all of that, but did that even count? Time travel was always fucking weird like that, and every single time Ben learned anything about the future, say him and Kai being married for example, it was constantly changing with every choice made, as Ben told Kai that he was growing uncomfortable around her and vice versa to his surprise, but they were both happier as just being friends, and Kai was nice enough to help him get together with Rook once Ben realized that he had feelings for his partner not long after he moved out of his parents house.

"Well, we never did get the chance to go on that universe road trip. Maybe I can call Kai, Ester, Cooper, Lucy, and maybe Zak, and if we can get ourselves a starship, we could go on our road trip never done."

Rook smiled at the thought.

"That can work. But will that allow you to forgive me for keeping secrets from you?"

Ben's face went from sanguine to melancholic.

"Benjamin, you should know me well enough to know that I would never hide things from you unless it was for your own safety, and the situation of me having to do so is for you to be safe. It is just... There are so many things that countless minds cannot comprehend without going mad with insanity. I do not wish for such a fate for you."

"I get what you mean, in trying to keep me safe, but what kinds of things would drive me crazy?"

"I am afraid that in this case, the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' are words not to be taken for granted."

* * *

Lucy didn't want to have these stupid nightmares anymore. She wanted to be happy again. She wanted to laugh again. She wanted to smile again, but why wasn't she able to be happy again? Was she broken? 

After about fifty hundred and something Extranet searches, she simply gave up at this point. She couldn't understand why she was trapped in dread. Then she received a text from Ben.

* * *

> _**Hey cuzie, been awhile.** _
> 
> _**Rook and I are planning a road trip.** _
> 
> _**You want in?** _

* * *

Lucy wondered over this text. Ben wanted to spend time with her, just like when they were kids.

For the first time in six weeks, Lucy felt a soft smile carve into her face.

* * *

> **_Sure!!! Sounds like fun._ **

* * *

Assessment Team 735 ("Sparkplug") now had a new lead into their investigation.

Bullfrog knew that something or someone was against them.

Spider's face and hands were now fully repaired, and her voice was back, albeit with some raspy sounds making her voice a bit hearse, although that was to be expected due to a lack of use.

Skunkboy wondered along with Spider about Jennifer's proper identity and how they were going to be allowed to liquidate her, or at least injure her.

Kitten, despite her usual silence, was bold enough to speak her thoughts about the very concept of attacking the Red Spots, and how impossible it would be for the Coalition to even send in a sleeper agent into their rankings. How they would be completely overwhelmed by just sheer numbers and political power alone.

But why would the Red Spots bother caring about the Global Occult Coalition in the first place?


End file.
